Gold entrapped in the Golden Fibres

SCIENCE FOR A CHANGE: AN IDEA, A DREAM , AN INNOVATION 💫

Project Name : Gold entrapped in the Golden Fibres

Theme : Resource Management and Food Security - Sustainable Development, Innovations in Food and Technology, Food Security

Now and then, we hear many cases in newspapers, news reports, articles, etc., that the feeder of the nation, a person who works the whole day throughout, toils in the heat of the sun, who has been described as the "messenger of god's earth " - yes, I am talking about our farmer brothers - who do suicides..they hang, hang with a hopeless heart, a hopeless soul , a dream which has died away...a dream of watching their crops laugh in the field and add to the beauty of this Earth.

Motivated by the change, the spirit to do my part for the farmers - I have come up with an innovative idea of utilizing the "future fibre" and a gift by nature about which you hear everyday, JUTE FIBRES - also known as the golden fibres, in the farm in such a  way, that they not only decrease the crop water requirement and double the plant growth rate, but do a ton more big things...read on to find more 😉

 

Ok, so basically the project I have made is my "self - innovation"; as here I basically means to use jute in an unconventional way - adding it to the layers of soil in such a way that they increase the crop production not only doubt / triple fold times ; but multifold times.

PROJECT PLOT : Let us consider an open field. A farmer ploughs it out, sows the seeds, adds fertilizers and manures, irrigates it, uses chemicals as a yield supplement, and finally harvest the crop.

ITS TIME TO REWIND BACK. 👈

Let us consider the same field. Hey, but there is a difference now - before ploughing the soil , he embeds the jute fibres into the soil - in a way quite similar to the one down here.👇

After assembling jute in the farm in the above way, he finally does the rest of the procedures - seed sowing, adding fertilizers and manures, irrigation and all the above steps he had done in the previous case..But here, there is gonna be a difference - NOT ONLY DOES THE FARMER REALIZE THAT THE CROP IS HEALTHIER AND HE HAS OBTAINED A HIGH YIELD, BUT HE HAS OBTAINED DOUBLE THE YIELD IN ALMOST HALF THE REQUIRED INPUT FOR THE CROP, ALONG WITH INCREASED SOIL POROSITY.

 PROJECT PROOF : Searching a proof to comprehend and hence verify my hypothesis, I put up a setup in which I took 4 pots of equal height and weight, and put some soil into each one of them, extracted from the backyard in equal amounts. Finally, I transplanted Periwinkle flowers (Vinca Minor) - a seasonal plant for monsoons - into the pots. The point to be noted is that the plants are still saplings and no flower buds are detected.

 ♥ PERIWINKLE FLOWERS ♥

The setup was done as follows :

POT A  : No Jute fibres were put.

POT B : Jute fibres were put only on the upper surface layer.

POT C : Jute fibres were put on the upper surface layer with an average density.

POT D : Jute fibres were put on the upper surface layer with a high density.

The plants were initially given the same amount of water, and were kept at the same place under similar conditions of temperature and sunshine. (The following picture, Pots A, B, C . D from left to right)

😀THE ACTUAL SETUP😀

The pots were kept for 14 days under observation for observing the levels of irrigation and plant growth.

• OBSERVATIONS

*Analysed Growth during 6 days

POT A :  Required water after every 24hrs., bent but  normal grwoth.

POT B : Required water after every 29 hrs., straight growth.

POT C : Required water after every 35 hrs., straight growth.

POT D : Required water after every 48 hrs.,straight, crisp and a faster growing rate than the other three pots.

Observing the data, we understand that in Pot A we did not get any extraordinary result and the water consumption was normal.

In Pot B, we got a special result , and hence the use of jute fibres accounted for the low water consumption of the plant, and provided for a better growth of a plant.

In Pot C, we can describe the results to be quite an extraordinary. Not only was the water requirement or the water frequency after larger intervals of time, the plant remained crisp and moist.

In Pot D,the results were finally wholesome. It included the pros of all the other plants, plus had an increased growth pace, along with increased soil porosity.

HENCE WE OBSERVED THAT OUT OF ALL THE THREE POTS, POT  D WITH JUTE IN HIGH DENSITY, SHOWED THE BEST GROWTH - BE IT THE QUALTITY OR QUANTITY OF WATER REQUIRED.

 

*USE OF HYDROCOLLOIDS OR AGAR-AGAR TO INCREASE JUTE POWER

Searching for a way to increase the net effectiveness of the jute fibres, my search finally came to an end when I successfully succedeed in using the property of a hydrocolloid called Agar - Agar - the property to make a gel in the presence of water to increase jute's already 500% water holding capacity.

Basically, Agar-Agar is a type of hydrocolloid that forms a gelly- like substance in the presence of water. When jute fibres are soaked in a solution of Agar-Agar powder in water, then the jute fibres tend to absorb all the water, and the Agar-Agar particles release the water very slowly into the soil. Thus, in this manner, the soil remains moist and the water holding capacity of jute fibres gets increased ! Interesting, isn't it ? 

If you want to imagine this, then simply think of the mixture of Jute fibres and Agar Particles to be a big ball of glue - something which attracts and holds all the water particles with it.

Reading all this, you may wonder that the tiny fibres can bring a change, but not a BIG one. Here is a BIG list to justify the same. 😉

 #1 HELPS IN WATER RETENTION IN THE SOIL : Jute fibres prevent the soil moisture from easily getting evaporated and lost in the sky to a phenomenal extent.

#2 COOLS THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE SOIL : Jute strands help in cooling the upper surface of the soil, hence improving crop conditions and creating an effect called "soil conditioning".

#3 PREVENTS SOIL EROSION : The jute fibres help to keep the soil particles binded with each other and hence prevent wastage of a resource which accounts for 28% of the globe's surface - SOIL.

#4 WHY TO CHOOSE ONLY JUTE FIBERS ? : With many other natural fibres around,why do we choose only jute ?

It is so because the fibres are called the most sustainable "future fibres", which show excellent absorption capacity due to the presence of Polar OH groups in them.

#5 THEIR MOISTURE REGAIN VALUE IS UPTO 36% AT 100% RELATIVE HUMIDITY : In simple words, we can say that when the air is completely saturated or filled with vapour, the jute fibres HOLD THE CAPACITY TO ABSORB AROUND 36 % OF THE AIR'S MOISTURE AND HENCE CAN BE BETTER DESCRIBED AS A "WOW" FIBRE 😎

 #6 HIGHLY RESISTANT TO MICROBIAL ATTACKS : Another whopping desirable property of jute fibres is that they are highly resistant to any sort of microbial attacks. 

When it comes to the fungal attacks on jute fibres, the pathogens attacking jute fibrils are very specific, and tend to attack ONLY the fibres - leaving your crop safe, secure and healthy- just like ever before :) 

#6 JUTE IS SOMETHING YOU COULD HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY KNOWN BEFORE KNOWING THIS POINT. : Jute's water holding capacity is around a shocking 500 % and wait ! not only this, its ignition temperature is also 193 C, hence making it safe for the crops.

Honestly speaking, there are uncountable benefits even after this...but valuing your time..here's something I would like to day at the end...

"On the deep day, when the Almighty was making ♥ Earth ♥, the land cried from below - saying that they needed a caretaker.

Do you know who was the caretaker ?

.

.

.

??

.

.

A FARMER.

So we, as the proud citizens of our country, take a pledge right now of  standing by someoene who has done a lot but has to live a life of fear. Farmers - the backbone of the country's economy.

At the last, I would like to say that,

OUR FARMERS

OUR BROTHERS.

OUR DUTY.

OUR HERITAGE. 

♥THANK YOU 😍 ♥

                                                                                                       - DEVANSHI , IX A